Compressed-air drilling equipment

ABSTRACT

Pneumatic hammer rock drilling apparatus which is ice free and adapted to be operative in a bore hole wherein a water-dirt separator is utilized in the borehole in juxtaposition with the drill.

United States aten 1 1 Vida et a1. 1 1 June 5, 1973 54 COMPRESSED-AIR LIN 2,859,733 11/1958 Bassinger et a1 ..175 92 x n) T 2,905,439 9/1959 EQU MEN 2,920,872 1/1960 [76] Inventors: Josef Vida, Johann Boehmstrasse 2,979,033 4/1961 7 21; Florian Hasewend, Straussgasse 310401710 6/1962 7, both of Kapfenberg, Austria 311 1 11176 11/1963 a 969,170 9/1910 [22] Filed: Sept. 2, 1970 1,438,553 12/1922 2,408,534 10/1946 1 1 PP N 69,134 3,220,496 11/1965 Beck 175/228 Related US. Application Data OTHER PUBLlCATlONS [63} Continuation of Ser. No. 740,771, June 6, 1968, Lubrication, The Texas Co., November 1944, Volume abandoned, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 30, Number 1 1, pp, 105-1 16. 411,280, Nov. 16, 1964, abandoned.

Primary ExaminerF rank W. Lutter [52] [1.8. CI. ..l75/103, 55/385, 92/154, ss stant Xamin rR0 rt Halper 166/105, 173/71, 175/69, 175/71 Attorney-Holman and Stern [51] Int. Cl. ..E2lb 3/12 [58] Field of Search ..184/6, 6.14, 55 A, 1 ABSTRACT 184/55 Pneumatic hammer rock drilling apparatus which is 229455472; ice .free and adapted to be operative in a bore hole 13-l7, 103; 55/385, 363; 9 /154;- 66/105.5 wherein a water-dirt separator is utilized in the borehole in juxtaposition with the drill. [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1,907,045 5/1933 Curtis ..184/55 A Patented June 5, 1973 3,736,994

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 5, 1973 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Mrmfar: Josey Vida WWMA'WEIMS'Z COMPRESSED-AIR DRILLING EQUIPMENT This application is a continuation of niy copending application Ser. No. 740,771 filed June 6, l968 and now abandoned, which is a continuation of-my copending application Ser. No. 411,280 filed Nov. 16, 1964 and now abandoned.

This invention relates to equipment for drilling deep boreholes in rock by a pneumatic drill or more particularly a vibratory rock drilling apparatus, which moves with the drill bit into the borehole and is slidably mounted on a drill mount secured to a drill car or drill column.

Drilling equipment is known in which a water separator and in some cases an oiler are incorporated between the compressor and the pneumatic drill.

The compressed air supplied from the compressor to the pneumatic drill contains entrained atmospheric moisture in the form of minute droplets of water, which separate in the water separator and can be removed there. The compressed air flows then through the oiler, where it entrains the amount of lubricating oil required for the lubrication of the pneumatic drill. This arrangement has mainly been suggested for boreholes having a small depth.

This general arrangement finds application also with drilling cars. In these cases the compressed air conduit leading from the compressor to the distributing valve on the drilling car incorporates a water separator and a second water separator combined with an oiler.

In all arrangements described hereinbefore, the water separator and the oiler are located on the surface. As the distance from the water separator, located outside the borehole, and the drill moved into the borehole increases with the depth of the borehole, water as well as the oil entrained by the compressed air in the oiler may settle out in this portion of the drill pipe. As the compressed air is cooled in the portion of the drill pipe located below the surface, the danger of a separation of water and of an accumulation of water in this portion of the drill pipe is increased.

This separation of water results in troubles due to icing depending mainly on the humidity of the air and also on the nature of the drillings. This icing occurs in the deep well drill itself and causes initially an intermittent operation and subsequently a complete blocking of the drill.

in order to avoid such a failure of the drilling equipment, the invention proposes to connect an oiler and/or a water and dirt separator and/or a check valve to the drill directly or by a pipe connector for movement into the borehole together with the drill and its drill bit.

In this arrangement, the elimination of the atmospheric moisture from the compressed air coming from the surface is effected immediately before the oiler and before the pneumatic drill. When the drilling of the borehole has been completed and the drill bit has been removed, the separated water may be removed simply by inverting the drill pipe section. In this arrangement, the oiler and the water separator are disposed in the borehole so that the hose connections are eliminated which were previously required between the distributing valve and the turning motor and were often a source of trouble.

' The mounting of an oiler between the pneumatic drill and the water and dirt separator by direct connection or by pipe connectors results in a particularly good airoil mixture and prevents a formation of a water-oil emulsion, in which the oil-coated droplets of water freeze easily and when emerging from the hammer clog the control and the exhaust ducts.

The invention relates further to a device for introducing additives to a stream of compressed air immediately before a deep well drill disposed in a borehole.

It is known to introduce anti-freeze agents or lubricants, such as oils, for lubricating the compressed air equipment, into compressed air. In order to add these substances to the working air at a uniform rate, a reservoir, e.g., in the form of an oiler, has previously been incorporated in the supply conduit leading from the source of pressure fluid to the equipment operated by such fluid. The design of the reservoirs depended on the form of the controlled supply conduit, the rate of addition, the nature of the additive and the operating pressure of the equipment.

Some types of oilers are provided with bellows. Oth ers utilize the injector effect and comprise two tubes or a piston, which is mounted on a piston rod and closes a valve member.

All these known oilers have the disadvantage that they are highly complicated and often fail as a result of small troubles. The requirement to provide a reservoir for one or more fluid additives, e.g., in the form of an oiler, which ensures an adequate lubrication of the equipment in conjunction with a minimum oil consumption and adds a properly metered emulsion to the stream of compressed air, has not yet been complied with.

The invention teaches the providing in the borehole immediately before the deep well drill of one or more drill pipe sections which constitute reservoirs for additives, particularly oil and/or hydrophobic fluids and/or liquid plastics. Also, this invention furnishes this drill pipe section, or these drill pipe sections, with a guide tube, known per se, on which an annular piston is slidable throughout the length of said guide tube from the upper to the lower drill pipe connector, irrespective of the attitude assumed by the guide tube when drilling is performed in various directions, said piston being subjected to the pressure of the working fluid, such as compressed air, and forcing the additives into the pressure fluid conduit.

Finally, the invention provides water separators, particularly for equipment operated by compressed air, such as pneumatic deep well drills, which are moved into the borehole. These water separators have expansion spaces and baffles disposed in the stream of compressed air and effecting a separation of the moisture contained in the compressed air.

According to the invention, the compressed air con duit leading to the equipment operated by compressed air incorporates conical baffles having peripheral openings and preferably disposed in a pipe section which is lowered into the borehole, and a compressed air tube, which is connected to the base of the conical baffle and provided with inlet openings. This arrangement according to the invention affords the advantage that the separator is supplied with the air which has been pre-cooled in the conduit leading to the borehole and in the conduit disposed in the borehole itself. In this arrangement, the size of the separator may be reduced to such an extent that its expansion spaces and baffles can be accommodated in one or more pipe sections of small diameter.

Various embodiments of the invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. I shows a drilling arrangement comprising devices arranged in series and disposed in a borehole.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the arrangement of FIG. I.

FIG. 3 shows a drilling arrangement in which the deep well drill, the oiler and the water and dirt separator, with or without check valve, are combined in a unit.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a reservoir according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view showing the throttle valve of the device.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line VlVl of FIG. 5 through the throttle valve.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are sectional views showing two embodiments of a water separator.

Like references designate similar parts.

According to FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 is the striking mechanism of the drill bit and is disposed in the borehole over the drill bit 1 and connected by a pipe connector 3a to a drill pipe section 4, which consists of an oiler. By a pipe connector 3b the oiler is screwconnected to a water and dirt separator 5, which is disposed in the drill pipe. The separator 5 is connected by a pipe connector 30 to a series of drill pipe sections 7. A check valve 6 is incorporated immediately before the pipe connector 3c. Alternatively, the check valve 6 may be disposed directly before the striking mechanism 2 or in one of the pipe connectors 3 or at any desired point of the drill pipe sections 7 preceding the striking mechanism 2.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, compressed air flows through the main inlet of the distributing valve and the turning motor 8, carried by the drill mount 9, through the drill pipe sections 7 into the striking mechanism 2 and then through the exhaust ports of the striking mechanism and between the drill pipe and the wall of the borehole into the atmosphere at the mouth 10 of the borehole. The drill pipe sections 7 are cooled by the surrounding air exhausted by the drill. This cooled portion of the drill pipe increases in length as the drilling proceeds so that the moisture is separated from the compressed air mainly in the cooled drill pipe sections.

In this arrangement, the cooled compressed air containing water of condensation and impurities enters the drill pipe section which constitutes a water and dirt separator, in which water and the impurities are separated. The purified compressed air then enters the next drill pipe section, which constitutes an oiler, in which the air entrains the amount of oil required for lubricating the drill.

FIG. 2 shows a modification, in which the striking mechanism 2 and oiler 4 are directly combined in a unit, the pipe connector 3a being omitted. The pipe connector 311 between the oiler 4 and the water and dirt separator 5 with or without check valve 6 is replaced by a specially designed pipe connector 11, which includes the water and dirt separator and is screwconnected to the preceding one of the drill pipe sections 7 leading to the surface.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the striking mechanism 2, the oiler 4 and the water and dirt separator 5, with or without check valve 6, are combined in a single unit. This arrangement may be used also for boreholes of relatively small depth or together with pneumatic drills above the surface, possibly with a pneumatic feed leg.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the pneumatic drill consisting particularly of a deep well drill is preceded by one or more drill pipe sections 23 designed as reservoirs 32 for additives. This drill pipe section or reservoir portion of the drill pipe is connected by a pipe connector 22 to the deep well drill and by a pipe connector 24 to the preceding drill pipe sections.

The position of the piston 27 in the annular hollow cylinder depends on the amount of additive contained in the cylinder. The piston divides the cylinder into a chamber 31 preceding the piston 27 and a chamber 32 succeeding the piston. These two chambers are gasand liquid-tightly separated by the piston 27, which is provided with a resilient peripheral surface 28 and gaskets 29 and 43. Just before the joint to the guide tube 26, the pipe connector 22 incorporates a throttle valve 34 so that the outlet opening of a V-shaped indentation 37 is swept by the by-passing stream of compressed air.

A disc 30 having an orifice is disposed in the internal bore of the pipe connector 24 (FIG. 4) before the joint to the guide tube 26. By a spacing disc 41, which is formed with bores 42, the guide tube 26 is held in such a position that its axis coincides with the axis of the orifice in the disc 30.

The additives have been introduced into the chamber 32 through a bore, which can be closed by a screw plug 35. By means of the piston 27, which is subjected to the compressed air, these additives are forced through a bore 33 into the throttle valve 34 and through the bores 40 and 36 of said valve, the v shaped indentation 37 (FIG. 6) of said valve and the outlet opening 38 and are atomized by the injection action into the stream of compressed air in the guide tube 26.

When a larger proportion of additives in the compressed air is required, the throttling valve member 39 can simply be rotated and fixed in a new position, in which the crescent-shaped V-section indentation 37 presents a portion having a larger cross-sectional area to the outlet opening 38. The device is thus suitable for adding a larger or smaller volume of additives to the inflowing working air.

In an arrangement which comprises a reservoir as shown by way of example in FIGS. 4 to 6, the supply of additives may be effected as follows.

The working medium consisting of the compressed air flows in the drill pipe through the pipe connector and into a drill pipe section provided with the device according to the invention. In this drill pipe section, the compressed air impinges on the disc having a central orifice, through which the major part of the compressed air enters the internal guide tube. A small part of the compressed air is laterally deflected from the disc and fills the chamber preceding the piston, which is longitudinally movable on the guide tube. By the pressure of the compressed air, the piston is moved in the direction of flow of the compressed air toward the deep well drill. The piston is thus caused to apply pressure to the additive, which is contained in a reservoir chamber succeeding the piston and is supplied through a throttle valve into the interior of the guide tube, through which the compressed air flows toward the deep well drill. If such a throttle valve is disposed in the guide tube, an injector effect is produced when the working compressed air flows past the throttle valve.

The additives are not only forced into the stream of compressed air but by the injector effect are drawn into and mixed with the compressed air.

When the reservoir chamber in the drill pipe is empty, it is sufficient to remove the drill pipe section out of the borehole and to invert the same so that the piston slides back to its initial position. In this way the reservoir space succeeding the piston can be filled up without difficulty, whereafter it is closed and can be attached to the deep well drill for the next drilling operatron.

The embodiment shown by way of example will now be described.

The water separator comprises a shell consisting of a tube or pipe 55, which has a circular cross-section and is smaller in diameter than the cross-section of the drill bit. The water separator is screw-connected to the pipe connector 53. A damping element 57 is interposed, which adjoins a sealing flange 56. A conical baffle 59 is connected by spacing rods 58 to the flange 56. A clearance 60 is provided between the base circumference of the cone and the shell of the water separator. A frusto-conical hollow body 61 is inserted in the cone and spaced from the base circumference thereof. A tube 62 is connected to the open end of this hollow body 61. The base circumference of the conical frustum 61 contacts the inside peripheral surface of the cone 59. Adjacent to this base circumference, the hollow body 61 is provided with a circular series of openin'gs 63. The end of the tube 62 is connected to the small end of the frusto-conical bottom plate 64. The base circumference of this plate is adjacent to the shell of the water separator, with sealing rings 65 interposed. This bottom plate is succeeded by sealing flanges, which have spacing rods carrying a further separator.

The compressed air flowing from the compressor toward the drill enters in the water separator initially through an expansion chamber 69 and then impinges on the conical baffle 59, by which it is deflected and flows between the spacing rods 58 to the annular clearance 60. When the air has passed through this clearance, it enters the expansion chamber 70 and flows along the shell 55 of the separator to the conical bottom plate 64, where it is again deflected and compelled to flow in the opposite direction to the cone 61. Flowing along the periphery of the cone 61, the compressed air reaches the openings 63 and then flows through the tube 62, plate 64 and into the next water separator or into the drill.

The space defined by the shell 55, the conical baffle 59 and the conical bottom plate 64 constituting a reservoir to retain separated water and impurities.

In the modification shown in FIG. 8, the conical baffle 89 is closed on all sides and provided at its base circumference with a guide cylinder 66, which is connected at some points of its periphery by spacing blocks 67 to the shell pipe 55 of the water separator so that this cylinder is centered in the shell. A tube 92 is secured to the base of the cone 89 and provided with a multiplicity of bores 68 in its portion surrounded by the guide cylinder 66. The end of the tube 92 extends through the conical bottom plate 94 of the separator.

In the water separator shown in FIG. 8, the compressed air flows from the pipe connector 53 into the expansion chamber 99 and along the conical baffle 89 to the shell of the separator. The air flows then along the shell of the separator and the guide cylinder 66 to the bottom plate 94, where it is deflected to flow in the opposite direction to the bores 68 in the tube 92. The air flows subsequently through the tube 92 and the bottom plate 64 into the next separator unit or the drill.

The conical baffle may be replaced by a plurality of helical surfaces having a lead opposed to the direction of flow of the compressed air.

To remove the liquid which has collected in the separator, the same is inverted so that the collected liquid flows out of the collecting chambers of the separator.

It will be understood that an oiler as described hereinbefore with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 may be used as an oiler in the drill pipe section 4 of FIG. 1 or as an oiler 4 in FIG. 2 or 3.

It will also be understood that one or more water separators as described hereinbefore with reference to FIG. 7 or 8 may be used as a water separator 5 in FIG. 1, 2 or 3.

I claim:

1. In a vibratory rock drilling apparatus having a lower extremity, including a pneumatic drill and drill pipe sections having conduit means defining the flow path of air to said drill, the improvement comprising an arrangement on the same longitudinal axis as said drill pipe sections of the following components respectively series connected and located to be operative within a bore hole: a drill bit at the lower extremity of the apparatus; a pneumatically operated striking mechanism for actuating said drill bit; an oiler for introducing oil into the air being fed to said striking mechanism and a water-dirt separator for separating water and impurities from said air to preclude icing of the apparatus, said separator including at least one member for reversing the direction of said air and a reservoir to retain the separated water and impurities.

2. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a check valve arranged on the longitudinal axis of said water-dirt separator in front of the separator.

3. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said striking mechanism and oiler are combined within a single pipe section.

4. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said single pipe section includes said water-dirt separator.

5. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said water-dirt separator has a shell which contains a conical baffle cone with its apex in the upstream direction of the air, a conical bottom plate downstream of the baffle cone to reverse the direction of air flow, a frusto-conical hollow body adjacent to and within the periphery of said baffle cone, said hollow body provided with peripheral apertures to allow entrance of the reversed air flow, the space defined by said shell, conical baffle cone and conical bottom plate constituting said reservoir.

6. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said hollow body has an oppositely directed apex to said baffle cone.

7. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said hollow body has a tube communicating its apex with the apex of said conical bottom plate for the continued downstream flow of air, and the conical baffle cone is connected to the shell of the separator by spacer rods. 

1. In a vibratory rock drilling apparatus having a lower extremity, including a pneumatic drill and drill pipe sections having conduit means defining the flow path of air to said drill, the improvement comprising an arrangement on the same longitudinal axis as said drill pipe sections of the following components respectively series connected and located to be operative within a bore hole: a drill bit at the lower extremity of the apparatus; a pneumatically operated striking mechanism for actuating said drill bit; an oiler for introducing oil into the air being fed to said striking meChanism and a water-dirt separator for separating water and impurities from said air to preclude icing of the apparatus, said separator including at least one member for reversing the direction of said air and a reservoir to retain the separated water and impurities.
 2. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a check valve arranged on the longitudinal axis of said water-dirt separator in front of the separator.
 3. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said striking mechanism and oiler are combined within a single pipe section.
 4. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein said single pipe section includes said water-dirt separator.
 5. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said water-dirt separator has a shell which contains a conical baffle cone with its apex in the upstream direction of the air, a conical bottom plate downstream of the baffle cone to reverse the direction of air flow, a frusto-conical hollow body adjacent to and within the periphery of said baffle cone, said hollow body provided with peripheral apertures to allow entrance of the reversed air flow, the space defined by said shell, conical baffle cone and conical bottom plate constituting said reservoir.
 6. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said hollow body has an oppositely directed apex to said baffle cone.
 7. Vibratory rock drilling apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein said hollow body has a tube communicating its apex with the apex of said conical bottom plate for the continued downstream flow of air, and the conical baffle cone is connected to the shell of the separator by spacer rods. 